Cart

Daniel Thornham – Into the Jaws of Death

Most plants get what they need from the sun and the soil. However, there are places in the world where the soil cannot provide enough food for plants to grow well. Some plants have evolved to live in these places by becoming carnivorous. They capture and digest insects. One plant in Borneo has made an evolutionary deal with its food: The fanged pitcher plant has persuaded one species of ant to help it capture other ants. To do this, the pitcher plant ant needs to be able to pass into & out of the plant’s traps unharmed, overcoming all of the trapping mechanisms and resisting the digestive juices that are fatal to other ants. Dan will tell you how.